I’m a recruiter who would like to eventually pivot to HR but I don’t have an HR degree. I’m considering pursing a Masters degree however am torn between HR or Org Psych/Org Development. Would love to hear folks’ perspective of either degree!

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I think SHRM or PHR would be a better use of time

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I did I/O Psych. It covers a lot of business along with a lot of HR. Very cool program!

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Same here! Enjoyed the IO curriculum.

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I pivoted to HR from education. You don’t need a degree. Showcase your transferable skills. Network. Learn about the industry. You’re welcome to still invest in a degree, but wanted to let you know this option before you spend valuable time and money.

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I second this, I transitioned from Recruiter to HR recently, I think just putting your name out there someone will bite. In the mean time brush up on state/fed labor laws. And study your current employers benefits in more of gritty detail,.

The degree will be helpful in long term growth(same with certification) but it’s not necessary to get in the door (depending on the level of competition for the position). Look for somewhere you can “cut your teeth”. The biggest challenge is finding competing salary… entry level hr doesn’t pay particularly well (in my area around 16-18/hr for hr specialist/associate) compared to recruiting (I started recruiting with now experience a few years ago at 45k ~21/hr)

I with 3years of recruiting experience I was able to get into an HRG role that was recruiting heavy (in a company that’s in a growth phase) and was offered 65k ~31/hr

If pursuing your masters is something you are excited about and can afford go for it, but you don’t need an HR degree to transition to HR. Having recruiting experience is helpful and I’ve seen recruiters move into HR roles.
I’m in Vancouver Canada, not sure what options are available where you are, but I did a part time associate certificate in HR Management that I was able to do while working in HR. I’d reccomened exploring similar options that may be more affordable and less of a time commitment than a Masters, or applying to things/networking and seeing how it goes without having a Masters before pursuing another degree.
Most of what I’ve learned in my HR career has been on the job, through attending various free workshops, reading articles and books, having conversations etc.

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Hey, would you mind sharing which associate certificate in HR management you did?

I agree. Also I would encourage you to sit for either SHRM CP or a PHR certification as most companies require that now.

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I think it’s slowly becoming more desirable, and honestly feel like companies are willing to pay more for someone that’s certified.

Get an MBA and take org classes.

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If it’s helpful, I did my masters in I/O psych and wish I did something a bit more targeted to HR or an MBA. If you’re at a company that understands and values what I/O psych is then it’s not as important.

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My own boss doesn’t even understand my degree I’m pretty sure.

My program is actually a mesh between the two Masters in HR and OD. I love it, so much better than just plain I/O because you’ll get the business reasoning side. Dont get me wrong, I still love psych and my bachelor’s was in Psych. So I do have a psych background with HROD masters

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What program is it and what school?

MSHRM and PHR here. I am extremely glad I did both - the knowledge gained was substantial. I also got a lot more offers once I had them on my resume.

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I started in recruiting and moved to hr…. With a degree in music 🤣 You don’t need an hr degree. I wouldn’t waste your money…better to do the shrm or phr so you can get the baseline education and find a role where you can gain real experience. Lots of startups will hire good recruiters to do both recruiting and hr.

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Forget the MBA or degree. Work as an in house recruiter (in an HR dept) and make your ambitions known. Get the PHR or MSHRM and you will be just fine with that.

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I got my masters in Human Resource Management and Org Development…

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Have you talked w your manager? Are they willing to help? The opportunity may be within

I am from engineering background and working in HR from almost 1 year now. I am also looking to have some professional HR certification or degree to justify and grow in my HR career. Someone suggested to have a Post graduate in HR before doing SHRM or PHR certification but I feel that requires a lot of commitment and wouldn't be as useful as an SHRM/PHR.

I did a master in datadriven organizational development. Taking into consideration how the times are changing, this master really provided both the OD perspective but also in dept knowledge of data driven HR and machine learning

I/o psych

I pivoted from a Journalism and Mass Communications degree working in media marketing and sales to HR. The niche was they needed in a communications person for recruitment, I learned employee life cycle things along the way, and found a real passion for benefits administration and internal communication.

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